Born on January 4

English mathematician, physicist and astronomer (1643–1727), Isaac Newton is one of the greatest scientists in history. He revolutionized science by formulating the laws of motion and universal gravitation, and by developing calculus.

A French chemist, jurist and statesman, Guyton de Morveau was one of the architects of the reform of chemical nomenclature alongside Lavoisier in 1787. As a member of the National Convention, he also took part in the Revolution and contributed to the founding of the École Polytechnique.

Louis Braille (1809–1852) was a French teacher who lost his sight at the age of three and invented, at 15, the tactile writing system that bears his name. His raised-dot alphabet revolutionized access to reading and writing for blind people around the world.

Robert Lamoureux (1920-2011) was a French comedian, actor, playwright and stage director. Famous for his comic monologues, notably “La Chasse au canard” (“The Duck Hunt”), he also found success in boulevard theatre and in cinema with the “7th Company” film series.

May-Britt Moser is a Norwegian neuroscientist and psychologist born in 1963. Together with her colleague Edvard Moser, she discovered “grid cells,” neurons that form the brain's positioning system. This work earned her the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2014.